Architecture

Exclusive Look Inside Brooklyn’s Tallest Skyscraper

Designed by SHoP Architects and stretching 1,066 feet in the sky, Brooklyn Tower is a new building rooted in glorious history
rendering of skyscrapers
The skyscraper is Brooklyn's first building to measure over 1,000 feet.Rendering courtesy of JDS/Crown

If you live near Downtown Brooklyn, you’re undoubtedly already acquainted with the sight of Brooklyn Tower. The borough’s first building to measure 93 stories and over 1,000 feet, it looms over everything else and has naturally become a landmark before construction has even completed. Although the building does have a certain Gotham-esque bend, it is in fact rooted in history. Designed by SHoP (in collaboration with JDS Development), the architecture firm behind the Barclays Center, and attached to the landmarked The Dime Savings Bank of Brooklyn—a Classic Revival–style building that opened in 1908, the same year the first subway tunnel between Manhattan and Brooklyn debuted—the new tower takes cues from the glorious building from which it sprouted.

Beyond the height, the exterior of The Brooklyn Tower (as the building is being called) distinguishes itself from other condos with floor-to-ceiling windows, strips of shiny bronze, and deep black metal and an overall angular design that creates a Neo Art Deco impression. The residential interiors were designed by Gachot Studios to channel the building’s distinct glamour into the finishes. Construction is now complete on select floors, and three designers have furnished their own units, allowing both onlookers and prospective residents to envision what life would look like in the building.

A rendering shows the landmarked Dime Savings Bank, a Classic Revival–style building that opened in 1908.

Rendering courtesy of JDS Development Group

One of those design studios in charge of interior design is Brittney Hart and Justin Capuco’s Husband Wife (Leyden Lewis was the other designer). Hart and Capuco immediately knew they wanted to reflect New York in the space, while also creating a refined sense of playfulness. They succeeded by working almost entirely with local artists and designers, from the photographs (framed in upstate New York) in the bedroom by Jim Bearden to rugs by Inigo Elizalde and custom-plaster work done by Nota Design.

Views from the apartment overlook both Manhattan and Brooklyn, as well as the river that separates the two boroughs.

Photo: Nicole Franzen

“Living this high off of the ground is pretty transformative. It feels like you’re in another universe, but you’re still so connected to New York because you’re overlooking all of it,” Hart explains. “We wanted this to feel somewhat fantastical, a little rooted in romanticism.” A selection of vintage items adds to this warmth, like the Gio Ponti door pulls used as handles for the bedroom’s custom corner cabinet or the restored wood bar stools.

A view inside of the media room, which includes a Umberto Bellardi Ricci-designed coffee table.

Photo: Nicole Franzen

Designed like stacked hexagons to mimic the shape of Dime Savings Bank, there’s a comfortable idiosyncrasy to the layout of the building’s units. Beyond brownstones, New York apartments tend to take very similar floor plans. Brooklyn Tower offers a great variety of layouts, whether you’d prefer to have a more square space or something like the unit Husband Wife furnished—which more closely resembles a ranch-style home—with comfortable hallways and living space adding some buffer between bedrooms.

A look at of the secondary bedroom shows incredible views.

Photo: Nicole Franzen

“It was kind of cool that it wasn’t like, four boxes, four rooms on top of each other, and that’s it. There’s a meandering layout, there are rooms tucked behind certain corners and that felt really unique to us,” Capuco says. “That’s what sold us right away—it really does live up to the hype of feeling different for New York.”

A look inside the primary bathroom.

Photo: Nicole Franzen

Sales began in March, and rentals officially launch in August 2022. The base of the building, including the Dime Saving Bank, is set to be used as retail space.